Peer-to-peer communication between devices is becoming a more prevalent and accepted method of providing network communication. A peer-to-peer network is a network loosely bound by connections in a group of computing devices that allows the computing devices to share resources directly. There are many peer-to-peer networks that have been created on the backbone of other network infrastructures. These network infrastructures usually include some level of management, whether the infrastructure is the Internet or another local network. The management often takes the form of one or more servers responsible for addressing destinations on the network and routing the information to these destinations. The addressing scheme may use one or more of several different protocols to address destinations and route information. For example, one network infrastructure protocol is DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). DHCP is an Internet protocol for automating the configuration of computers that use TCP/IP. DHCP can be used to automatically assign IP addresses, to deliver TCP/IP stack configuration parameters such as the subnet mask and default router, and to provide other configuration information such as the addresses for time servers. Traditionally, a network using DHCP is managed by a dedicated computing device referred to a DHCP server.
Traditional models, such as a network using standard DHCP, fail when no infrastructure yet exists. The idea of ad-hoc, self-forming peer-to-peer networks that do not require any prior network infrastructure or administration is relatively new with many hurdles to overcome. One of the hurdles is how to provide an addressing scheme when dedicated computing devices are not provided on the peer-to-peer network to manage addressing.